Merlin's Whiskers
by picascribit
Summary: SCORBUS ARC SERIES #8, 2022: Scorpius decides to get himself a 17th birthday present. Albus isn't sure about it at first. Pure fluff. Post-HPCC, canon-compliant. Edited Nov 2017. Podfic available at AO3.


"Happy Samhain," said Scorpius Malfoy, clinking his bottle against Albus Potter's.

Albus returned the gesture, legs slung comfortably across his boyfriend's lap. "Happy Samhain. And happy almost-birthday."

"Not until next week," said Scorpius. He grinned. "Then I'll be an adult. Dunno how I feel about dating someone who's underage."

"Oh," said Albus innocently, sipping his butterbeer. "Then I guess that means all shagging is cancelled between next week and the beginning of April. That's what? Almost five months? If you think you can manage that long ... Or were you planning on finding yourself someone more … mature, in the meantime?"

Scorpius stopped Albus's teasing with a butterbeer-flavoured kiss.

"No," he said dreamily, after a moment. "I've given it a great deal of thought over the past minute, and I've decided that the age difference isn't insurmountable, after all."

"What age difference?" asked Olivia Huang, flouncing onto the sofa next to them.

"Between me and Scorpius," said Albus. "Don't you know? I'm dating an older man."

Olivia snorted. "'Older man'. You two are both in the same year. Roxy was more than a year older than me when we went out," she said, naming Albus's cousin, Roxanne Weasley, who had finished at Hogwarts the previous year. "Kavi and Connor are a year apart, too. It's not that big a deal."

"I know that," said Albus, rolling his eyes. "We were just having a laugh, because of Scorpius's birthday next week."

"Oh, right." Olivia smiled brightly at Scorpius. "The big one-seven. Wow. Any plans?"

Scorpius shrugged, grinning. "Not as such. Albus and I had a Hogsmeade date last weekend, and now there's this nice little event." He gestured with his bottle, indicating the decorations that adorned the Room of Requirement for the Hogwarts LGBT club's Samhain party, marking the start of the darkest quarter of the year. "A man of simple tastes, such as myself, requires nothing more."

Albus snorted, carefully avoiding eye-contact with either Scorpius or Olivia, as he took a swig of butterbeer. He had plans for Scorpius's seventeenth birthday, but his boyfriend was not in on them. He would let Olivia know the details privately, once things were finalised.

Before Olivia could ask Albus any awkward questions about plans, the door opened, and Polly Chapman entered, her arms around a large basket. Polly's nonbinary sweetheart, Yann Fredericks, followed behind. Albus frowned in puzzlement as Polly set the basket in the centre of the circle of chairs and sofas, beaming.

"Oh!" Scorpius cried, sitting up so suddenly that he slopped butterbeer onto Albus's robes without noticing.

Yanking his legs out of the way, Albus drew his wand to siphon up the spilled drink. By the time his robes were dry, his boyfriend was kneeling on the floor beside Polly's basket, a kitten cradled to his chest.

Albus knelt beside him, peering into the basket. Five more kittens stared up at him, mewing loudly.

"My kneazle got out over the summer," said Polly. "Their father was a muggle cat."

"I didn't know kneazles could interbreed with cats," said Albus, delicately offering a finger to one of the kittens to sniff.

"Sure they can," Scorpius said, most of his attention still focused on the kitten now climbing his arm. "Kneazles and cats aren't actually different species; kneazles are just a - a genetic variant. Like the difference between wizards and muggles. Kneazles are just cat wizards."

Polly nodded, passing a kitten to Olivia. "Muggleborn kneazles are really rare, but most kittens with at least one kneazle parent have magical abilities."

Soon, nearly everyone in Protego Club was kneeling on the floor, waiting for their turn to hold a kitten. Only a few people hung back.

"They're eight weeks old," Polly informed them hopefully. "All ready to adopt. I just need to find homes for them."

One kitten, with orange, grey, and white markings, remained in the basket after Polly had handed the others around. Albus thought it looked smaller than its litter mates.

Scorpius scooped it up. It blinked at him with large, green eyes.

Polly frowned. "I'm not sure what to do about that one."

"What's wrong with it?" Albus asked.

"It's a squib," Polly said sadly. "I tested them all. The rest are kneazles, but that one is just a cat. I doubt anyone will want it."

Albus agreed that it was too bad about the kitten, and got to his feet. He had realised that, with Scorpius distracted, it was an ideal time to discuss plans for his boyfriend's surprise party. He found Morgana Rosier sitting on one of the sofas between her girlfriends, Keshet Goldstein, and Albus's cousin, Rose Granger-Weasley.

"Not joining the kitten party?" asked Albus.

Morgana shook her black-dyed head regretfully. "I'm allergic. Which stinks, because I would _love_ to have a black cat."

Keshet laughed. "It would go with your aesthetic, but being all red and puffy wouldn't. Which means I have to avoid cats, too, unfortunately." She kissed Morgana fondly on her powder-white brow.

"We already have a kneazle," Rose shrugged. "Rufus wouldn't be very happy if I brought home another one."

"Are we all set for next Saturday?" Albus asked Morgana, lowering his voice.

She nodded. "We can have the party in the Slytherin common room, before supper. I've asked Professor Travers, and she's given permission to let in up to ten non-Slytherins. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"

Albus considered, counting off the members of Protego Club in his head. "Yeah, that should cover it. He thinks the Samhain party is good enough, so I've told him there are no other plans in the works. But you can't _not_ celebrate turning seventeen."

"Agreed," said Morgana.

Albus glanced at Rose. "Are you coming?"

Rose looked uncomfortable. She had shunned Albus for more than four years after he befriended Scorpius, and was sorted into Slytherin. Rose had a Slytherin girlfriend now, and she and Albus were on civil terms, but their relationship was still rocky.

"Oh, please come, Rosie," begged Morgana, taking her hand. "We've seen your dormitory, and you've seen Kesh's, but you've never been to my house."

"Yeah, OK," Rose mumbled, looking self-conscious.

"Incoming," muttered Keshet, looking up.

Albus glanced around, and saw Scorpius coming toward them, beaming with happiness. Albus's own face broke into a goofy grin. Every now and then, he was reminded of exactly how much he loved his dorky boyfriend. And then there was nothing to be done but to take Scorpius's hands in his, and pull him close for a kiss.

Morgana and Keshet whistled and hooted at them until they broke apart.

"What was that for?" asked Scorpius, cheeks pink.

"Nothing," grinned Albus. "I love you."

"Those things are opposites," Scorpius pointed out, kissing Albus on the nose. "I love you, too."

* * *

Albus spent the rest of the Samhain party trying to find excuses to disentangle himself from Scorpius for a few minutes, to let the rest of the club members know about the plans for Scorpius's birthday. As it was, Albus only managed to tell a couple of people, but he knew Morgana was also spreading the word, as Slytherin co-host. If Scorpius noticed that Albus was distracted, he did not mention it. His mind, too, seemed to be elsewhere.

When the meeting ended, Albus and Scorpius meandered back in the direction of the Slytherin dungeon, hand in hand, taking a more round-about route than usual. It was an hour yet until supper, and neither of them had anywhere pressing to be. Albus could not help noticing that Scorpius still seemed distracted.

"Hey," he said, steering his boyfriend into a quiet alcove. "Are you with me?"

Scorpius beamed at him fondly. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Good," grinned Albus. "You know I hate being alone."

He gave Scorpius a gentle shove against the wall, and stepped closer to kiss him, their bodies pressing together.

A high-pitched sound from somewhere nearby made Albus break off the kiss before it had properly begun.

"What was that?" he frowned, glancing around the deserted corridor.

"Oh," said Scorpius, feigning nonchalance, though his ears were bright pink. "It's just Merlin."

Albus scowled at his boyfriend in confusion. "Merlin? What are you on about?"

Scorpius dipped a careful hand into the pocket of his robes, and gently withdrew something from the folds.

"This is Merlin," he said happily, presenting the kitten to Albus.

Albus stared at the tiny tri-coloured cat in astonishment. It stared back at him with round, unblinking green eyes.

"You adopted the _squib kitten_?!" Albus squeaked.

"Yeah," said Scorpius. "I think she's neat."

"' _She_ '?" repeated Albus. "You named a non-magical girl cat 'Merlin'?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Merlin is a nice name. Anyway, I don't think she minds."

He cradled the little cat to his chest and stroked her head with the tip of a finger. She closed her eyes and began to purr with surprising volume for her size.

"So you just decided to adopt a cat, without saying anything?" Albus demanded.

"She's my birthday present to myself," said Scorpius, gazing fondly at his new pet. "I've always wanted a cat, but Dad's allergic. I thought you might try to talk me out of it, if I told you before."

"Your dad is still allergic," Albus pointed out, "and you're still living at home during hols, for at least another year and a half."

"I know," said Scorpius, glancing up shyly. "I was sort of hoping you could take her, over hols. I thought maybe she could be - ours."

"Oh," said Albus, looking down at the little cat in a new light. "That's - but what if Martha doesn't like it?"

Scorpius gave him a sweet smile that Albus had no ability to resist. "Let's go find out."

He took Albus's hand, and together, the three of them set off for the owlery.

As they walked, Albus shot a doubtful glance at the kitten, draped over Scorpius's arm, its eyes closed, purring loudly and contentedly. He was not sure why the idea of Scorpius's new pet bothered him so much, except that Scorpius had made a big decision without asking Albus's opinion first.

Stepping into the dim and musty space of the owlery tower, Albus cupped his hands around his mouth, and gave a soft, hooting call. Almost at once, there was a fluttering of wings, and Albus's owl, Martha, lighted on his forearm, giving his ear an affectionate tweak.

"Hey, Martha," said Albus warmly, smoothing her sleek, brown feathers. "I want you to meet someone."

Scorpius held up the kitten for the owl to inspect. "This is Merlin."

"I hope she doesn't think you've brought her a snack," said Albus nervously, ready to yank Martha away if she tried to bite the kitten.

The owl eyed the tiny creature curiously, tilting her head this way and that, to get a better look at it. The kitten stared back at her solemnly. At last, Martha closed her eyes, seeming to lose interest.

"Good girl," said Albus, giving the owl a scritch.

Martha hooted softly.

"She doesn't seem to mind Merlin, at least," said Scorpius, pleased. "I'm glad. I know how much Martha means to you. I'd like for them to be friends."

"Do you ever - get jealous of Martha?" Albus asked hesitantly.

Scorpius frowned. "Not really. I mean, I know you love her, but that doesn't mean you love me any less, does it? Love isn't pie."

"Of course not," said Albus, feeling a small weight lift from his heart. Scorpius had enough love for him, even if he adopted a dozen cats.

He raised his arm. "Off you go, Martha. Sorry for disturbing your sleep."

The owl spread her wings and soared back up to her perch, high in the owlery tower.

"Were you really worried I'd leave you for a kitten?" asked Scorpius, amused.

"Not _leave_ ," mumbled Albus, embarrassed. "Just - you might not have as much time for me. I've never had to share you before."

Scorpius grinned, and kissed him. "I promise I'll always have time for you."

Albus glanced down at the kitten in his boyfriend's hands, still uncertain.

"You really want her to be ours?"

"Sure," said Scorpius. "Don't you?"

Albus bit his lip. "Cats can live for a long time."

"I know." Scorpius's voice was soft and husky. "I hope we'll be together for a long time."

Putting out a finger, Albus stroked Merlin's tiny head. It was very soft. Purring blissfully, she rubbed her miniature jaw against his fingernail.

"So do I," said Albus.


End file.
